The Ghost At The Second Bridge Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCBDEFEGHIJKLML NOPOQBRB STUTEVWV XYWYZCAC A2WA2WEB2EB2 C2D2LD2E2CZC YWYWKF2G2F2 YH2I2H2ZZJ2Z C2RC2RK2L2K2L2 M2N2M2N2O2P2O2P2 Q2J2Q2J2DR2DR2 S2T2S2T2B2EB2E P2U2P2U2V2W2V2W2 X2Y2X2Y2X2X2Z2X2 T2A3T2A3E2X2E2X2You'd call the man a senseless fool | A |
A blockhead or an ass | B |
Who d dare to say he saw the ghost | C |
Of Mount Victoria Pass | B |
But I believe the ghost is there | D |
For if my eyes are right | E |
I saw it once upon a ne er | F |
To be forgotten night | E |
Twas in the year of eighty nine | G |
The day was nearly gone | H |
The stars were shining and the moon | I |
Is mentioned further on | J |
I d tramped as far as Hartley Vale | K |
Tho tired at the start | L |
But coming back I got a lift | M |
In Johnny Jones s cart | L |
- | |
Twas winter on the mountains then | N |
The air was rather chill | O |
And so we stopped beside the inn | P |
That stands below the hill | O |
A fire was burning in the bar | Q |
And Johnny thought a glass | B |
Would give the tired horse a spell | R |
And help us up the Pass | B |
- | |
Then Jimmy Bent came riding up | S |
A tidy chap was Jim | T |
He shouted twice and so of course | U |
We had to shout for him | T |
And when at last we said good night | E |
He bet a vulgar quid | V |
That we would see the ghost in black | W |
And sure enough we did | V |
- | |
And as we climbed the stony pinch | X |
Below the Camel Bridge | Y |
We talked about the Girl in black | W |
Who haunts the Second Bridge | Y |
We reached the fence that guards the cliff | Z |
And passed the corner post | C |
And Johnny like a senseless fool | A |
Kept harping on the ghost | C |
- | |
She ll cross the moonlit road in haste | A2 |
And vanish down the track | W |
Her long black hair hangs to her waist | A2 |
And she is dressed in black | W |
Her face is white a dull dead white | E |
Her eyes are opened wide | B2 |
She never looks to left or right | E |
Or turns to either side | B2 |
- | |
I didn t b lieve in ghosts at all | C2 |
Tho I was rather young | D2 |
But still I wished with all my heart | L |
That Jack would hold his tongue | D2 |
The time and place as you will say | E2 |
Twas twelve o clock almost | C |
Were both historically fa | Z |
Vourable for a ghost | C |
- | |
But have you seen the Second Bridge | Y |
Beneath the Camel s Back | W |
It fills a gap that broke the ridge | Y |
When convicts made the track | W |
And o er the right old Hartley Vale | K |
In homely beauty lies | F2 |
And o er the left the mighty walls | G2 |
Of Mount Victoria rise | F2 |
- | |
And there s a spot above the bridge | Y |
Just where the track is steep | H2 |
From which poor Convict Govett rode | I2 |
To christen Govett s Leap | H2 |
And here a teamster killed his wife | Z |
For those old days were rough | Z |
And here a dozen others had | J2 |
Been murdered right enough | Z |
- | |
The lonely moon was over all | C2 |
And she was shining well | R |
At angles from the sandstone wall | C2 |
The shifting moonbeams fell | R |
In short the shifting moonbeams beamed | K2 |
The air was still as death | L2 |
Save when the listening silence seemed | K2 |
To speak beneath its breath | L2 |
- | |
The tangled bushes were not stirred | M2 |
Because there was no wind | N2 |
But now and then I thought I heard | M2 |
A startling noise behind | N2 |
Then Johnny Jones began to quake | O2 |
His face was like the dead | P2 |
Don t look behind for heaven s sake | O2 |
The ghost is there he said | P2 |
- | |
He stared ahead his eyes were fixed | Q2 |
He whipped the horse like mad | J2 |
You fool I cried you re only mixed | Q2 |
A drop too much you ve had | J2 |
I ll never see a ghost I swear | D |
But I will find the cause | R2 |
I turned to see if it was there | D |
And sure enough it was | R2 |
- | |
Its look appeared to plead for aid | S2 |
As far as I could see | T2 |
Its hands were on the tailboard laid | S2 |
Its eyes were fixed on me | T2 |
The face it cannot be denied | B2 |
Was white a dull dead white | E |
The great black eyes were opened wide | B2 |
And glistened in the light | E |
- | |
I stared at Jack he stared ahead | P2 |
And madly plied the lash | U2 |
To show I wasn t scared I said | P2 |
Why Jack we ve made a mash | U2 |
I tried to laugh twas vain to try | V2 |
The try was very lame | W2 |
And tho I wouldn t show it I | V2 |
Was frightened all the same | W2 |
- | |
She s mashed said Jack I do not doubt | X2 |
But tis a lonely place | Y2 |
And then you see it might turn out | X2 |
A breach of promise case | Y2 |
He flogged the horse until it jibbed | X2 |
And stood as one resigned | X2 |
And then he struck the road and ran | Z2 |
And left the cart behind | X2 |
- | |
Now Jack and I since infancy | T2 |
Had shared our joys and cares | A3 |
And so I was resolved that we | T2 |
Should share each other s scares | A3 |
We raced each other all the way | E2 |
And never slept that night | X2 |
And when we told the tale next day | E2 |
They said that we were intoxicated | X2 |
Henry Lawson
(1)
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